Four kiwi riders are among the 22 teams to contest the final of three women’s Grand Tours when the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift gets underway at the weekend.
Paris Olympian Niamh Fisher-Black (Lidl-Trek), Olympic medallist and sprinter Ally Wollaston (FDJ-Suez), Henrietta Christie (EF Education-Oatly) and Ella Wyllie (Liv AlUla-Jayco) will contest the nine-stage challenge.
The contest sets off in Vannes, a walled town in the Brittany region of northwest France, and finishes nine days later in the mountains near the Crans Montana range on the border of France and Switzerland.
The race has grown significantly since it was relaunched in 2022 from a one-day race to this year’s battle over nine stages. There is a total of 1165 kms with three flat stages, three hilly and three mountain stages, comprising over 17kms of vertical gain.
On flatter days, Wollaston will be a key rider to watch. Her GC victory in the Tour of Britain was impressive, with three third stage placings in a row. She did not stop there, going on to win a stage of the demanding Tour de Pyrenees.
"Being a part of this era of women’s cycling is a privilege, and I’m so thankful for the amazing women that paved the way for us. I cannot wait to line up at Tour De France Femmes avec Zwift alongside a team of truly inspiring riders and staff."
In terms of overall opportunity, then the diminutive Fisher-Black will lead the GC hopes for her Lidl-Trek team, backing up for fifth place in this race last year. The Paris Olympian was fourth on GC at the Tour de Suisse and sixth in the Vuelta to give an indication of her form this year.
Added to that, she was third on points in the major test for women’s cycling, the Giro d’Italia, seventh in the mountains race and 10th on general classification.
Wyllie, 22, was third in the youth classification at the Vuelta a Burgos Feminas and last year was seventh in the young rider category in the Giro d’Italia Women, second in the Vuelta, and she won the youth category in the Itzulia Women.
“My heart is full and the legs have done a few kms. Now it is time to see what we can do,” said Wyllie.
Christie, 23, was eighth in the mountain classification in the Tour de Suisse, and one of the key riders in the EF Education line-up for the major races including the Vuelta Espana Femenina and follows a string of impressive performances in 2024.
The Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift begins on Sunday (NZ time) and finishes on 4 August (NZT).